North Korea, Rodman, and Jews

An interesting cadre of people ” target=”_blank”>starves its own citizens, executes and imprisons people for things as minor as ” target=”_blank”>four concentration camps that hold an estimated 80,000 to 120,000 prisoners, many of them in jail for “crimes” allegedly committed by their parents and grandparents. (Note: Anyone remotely interested in this topic must read ” target=”_blank”>South Korea) into a wasteland. But as he pointed out:

“I'm not a president, I'm not a politician, I'm not an ambassador,” he said before arriving. “I'm just an athlete and the reason for me to go is to bring peace to the world, that's it. That's all I want, no money. I want no money, no money.”

This author is tempted to psychoanalyze Rodman's pursuit of a friendship with one of the world's most dangerous and evil men, but why dour the reader's mood so early in the new year?

Rather, let's highlight the fact that a very prominent Jew, Rabbi Abraham Cooper, is an outspoken voice on the horrific life that North Koreans live because of their government. Jews in particular should speak out for people oppressed by tyrannical governments. That is, in a nutshell, Jewish history since the times of Pharaoh. North Korea, since the Korean War (1950-1953) has been the most consistently awful human rights crisis in the world. As David Hawk, author of